Closet shelves were traditionally mounted on lath and plaster walls by nailing finished wood shelf mounting strips through the plaster into supporting studs. If a hanging rod was called for beneath the shelf, for example, rod support rings would be nailed to the side walls of the closet in similar fashion.
As will be recognized, this manner of mounting shelves is labor intensive. A carpenter must measure the wood mounting strips, cut them and then locate the studs. After positioning the mounting strips on the closet walls each strip must be nailed with a plurality of nails into the studs in the wall.
With the greatly increasing cost of labor, particularly in the construction industry, builders have sought construction components and methods which reduce the amount of labor required to build. One major breakthrough in the product area was the development of dry wall. Dry wall has virtually replaced lath and plaster construction in the building industry, as is well known.
There have not been great improvements in shelf mounting structures and techniques, however. Some developments do purport to reduce labor costs in mounting shelves while achieving a high quality product but they leave much to be desired. One involves brackets with teeth on them which are pressed against opposite side walls in a closet, for example, the teeth being forced into the dry wall. A shelf rests on lips extending inwardly of the brackets and is effective to prevent the brackets from pulling out of the walls. These brackets have a tendency to come loose, however, and are considered barely adequate by contractors.